Does Cannabis Cure Cancer?

Being diagnosed with cancer is a terrible, scary thing. I have never been diagnosed with cancer, but members of my family and some of my close friends have been diagnosed with cancer before, and it’s terrifying. My stepfather has been diagnosed with cancer two times. The second time he was diagnosed with cancer, he was told he could only have a year to live. Hearing that news was one of the saddest days of my life, and I can’t imagine what it was like for him personally. Fortunately he has won his battle with cancer on both occasions, and is now healthy and considered to be cancer-free.

My stepfather used a multi-pronged strategy to combat his cancer diagnosis, with cannabis oil being part of his regimen during his second battle. He has never been a huge fan of cannabis, although he has always supported cannabis reform. For him, cannabis consumption was just not a good fit. He didn’t like the way it made him feel, which is perfectly fine with me. No one should ever be forced to consume cannabis if they don’t want to.

However with his second diagnosis things were different. Whereas his first diagnosis was prostate cancer, which was more manageable for him to combat, the second diagnosis was for bone cancer. My stepfather was open to doing anything that he could do, and I was able to convince him to give cannabis oil a try. His doctor was in support of it because of how dire the situation was and said that it couldn’t hurt to give it a shot.

I made him some cannabis oil as well as acquired some from a dispensary, which he used on a daily basis in addition to other cancer treatments. When he started the cannabis oil, his levels were at 121 (I am not a medical professional, so what exactly was being measured, I do not know). By the time he was done with the treatments (including cannabis oil), his levels had dropped to .30. His doctor was so blown away by his remarkable recovery that he personally delivered the good news and referred to it as a ‘miracle.’ I will never forget when my mom called me to give me the good news. It was literally one of the best days of my life. I can’t even imagine how it must have felt for my stepfather to receive that news, but I assume it was relieving beyond words.

How much the cannabis oil helped him is anyone’s guess. The doctor and my stepfather both agreed that the cannabis oil helped, but it’s hard to quantify exactly how much. Ultimately it doesn’t matter because my stepfather is around and healthy, and so whatever degree that cannabis helped him is moot in a many ways. I will definitely be making more cannabis oil moving forward and giving it to other loved ones if/when they are diagnosed with cancer. I will not tell them to only take the cannabis oil, but instead will do what I did with my stepfather and encourage them to add it to their regimen, as it doesn’t have any downside other than providing euphoric effects which may be undesirable to some people.

Chances are if you are reading this, you either have been diagnosed with cancer or know someone that has been diagnosed with cancer. You are likely looking for something, anything that can help. If you have searched on Google for cures for cancer, you probably have come across a number of articles touting cannabis as the best solution. Some articles will claim that all a patient needs is cannabis. I do not agree with those claims, and honestly think that telling a suffering cancer patient that all they need is cannabis is irresponsible at best, and in some cases can be outright cruel.

This is not to say that cannabis cannot cure cancer. A number of patients have used cannabis and won their cancer battles. But that is much different from saying that cannabis always cures cancer. Perhaps it does in some cases, and doesn’t in others, which is true of many medications. A study from earlier this year found that brain cancer patients who use a combination of THC and CBD fared better than those that didn’t use cannabis. The results of the study, and other studies for that matter, are very encouraging. When combined with personal stories of defeating cancer with cannabis, it creates a strong argument that cannabis can cure cancer, but it’s not 100% guaranteed in all cases.

Rather than stating that ‘cannabis cures cancer’ I think it’s more accurate to say that ‘cannabis can cure cancer.’ Getting a suffering cancer patient’s hopes up that anything, cannabis included, is guaranteed to cure their condition is cruel in my opinion. Cannabis supporters need to be supportive, but also realistic. Cannabis is not harmful like some other cancer treatments, and because of that, cancer patients don’t really have anything to lose by giving it a try. That’s the biggest ‘selling point’ that can be offered to cannabis patients who are considering trying cannabis oil as part of their treatment regimen. If it doesn’t cure their cancer, they aren’t out anything accept their time. But, maybe, it just might do the trick (and I hope it does!).

Recently the FDA sent letters to CBD companies demanding that they quit claiming that cannabis cures cancer. The warning letter stated that claims that cannabis can cure cancer are unproven, which I wholeheartedly disagree with. As previously stated, I won’t go as far as saying that cannabis 100% cures cancer in every case, but I think it’s just as irresponsible to make the claim that cannabis 100% doesn’t cure cancer as it is to claim that cannabis 100% cures cancer in every instance. More research needs to be conducted, which will hopefully happen in the near future.

I do not think that claims of cannabis as a cure for cancer should ever be used as a marketing strategy. I personally feel that such marketing strategies prey upon cancer patients who are in very desperate situations. But I do feel that the cannabis plant is one of the most versatile, helpful plants on the planet. It may very well possess the cure to cancer, and since no one has ever died from a cannabis overdose, cancer patients should give its use strong consideration as a treatment to supplement whatever other treatments their doctors recommend. With that being said, cancer patients need to also realize that cannabis may not be the end-all solution for their situation. I sincerely hope that it is in as many cases as possible, but cancer patients need to always keep things in perspective. If you are suffering from cancer, my thoughts are with you and I hope that you kick cancer’s ass. Stay strong!

Johnny Green is a cannabis activist from Oregon. Johnny has a bachelor's degree in public policy, and believes that the message should always be more important than the messenger. #LegalizeIt #FreeThePlant